Responsible travel & Sustainability
Tourism should be an enriching experience for both the visitor and the residents of a chosen destination. Over the last few years, Brazil has become an increasingly popular choice for a wide range of travellers. Growth, however, in order to be beneficial for all, must be sustainable. Fortunately, many successful initiatives are being carried out in the field of responsible travel, of which we are proud to be a part!
Sustainability entails a long-term commitment to our clients, suppliers, partners, employees, and the wider community, through practices that respect the environment and support the development of the communities in which our activities and services take place. We believe we are capable of contributing to sustainable development by generating satisfaction for our clients, ensuring fair trade for our suppliers, and leaving a positive legacy in economic, social, and environmental terms. We give preference to local suppliers/partners that adhere to our sustainability policy and hold a sustainability label or certification. By doing so, we aim to minimise any negative impact of our activities and to organise our services through clear and measurable processes.
In our efforts to incorporate sustainability into our business, Ideia Tours has partnered with Travelife, a three-stage certification program for tour operators and travel agents: (1) Travelife Engaged; (2) Travelife Partner; and (3) Travelife Certified. Our company has achieved Travelife Certified recognition, the highest recognition level within the internationally recognized Travelife sustainability programme for tour operators and travel agents. Travelife Certified recognition is awarded following a comprehensive independent on site audit based on the Travelife Certified Standard. During the audit, it is verified that our company complies with more than 200 mandatory sustainability criteria covering areas including environmental management, climate action, biodiversity, working conditions, human rights, local communities, sustainable supply chain management, customer communication and responsible business practices. The audit confirms that our sustainability management system and sustainability practices have been demonstrably implemented throughout the entire organization and comply with the requirements of the Travelife Certified standard. To maintain this recognition, our company is recertified every two years to verify that we continue to comply with the requirements of the Travelife Certified Standard. More information about the Travelife programme, the different recognition levels, the validity of our current Travelife Certified recognition, the assessment process and the publicly available Travelife criteria can be found on the Travelife consumer website
Sustainability entails a long-term commitment to our clients, suppliers, partners, employees, and the wider community, through practices that respect the environment and support the development of the communities in which our activities and services take place. We believe we are capable of contributing to sustainable development by generating satisfaction for our clients, ensuring fair trade for our suppliers, and leaving a positive legacy in economic, social, and environmental terms. By doing so, we aim to minimise any negative impact of our activities and to organise our services through clear and measurable processes. We give preference to local suppliers/partners that adhere to our sustainability policy and hold a sustainability label or certification.
We seek to provide a safe, healthy, and stimulating working environment for our employees, which promotes training, knowledge, and participation. This includes training and involvement in our efforts to incorporate sustainability into every aspect of our operation. We adhere to existing labour regulations and guarantee equal employment opportunities and non-discrimination based on skin colour, ethnicity, gender, religion, disability, age, or sexual orientation. We maintain an effective reporting system for cases of social misconduct and protect children’s rights, not allowing any form of forced child labour, and safeguarding children against sexual exploitation and prostitution. We ensure that customer privacy is not compromised. Data is secured and only accessible by accredited staff. Confidential customer data received is solely used for purposes within the scope of a client reservation. Our local suppliers are contract bound and abide by globally recognized data protection laws (GDPR). Throughout our tours, we encourage mutually beneficial cultural interaction, we instruct our guides and travellers not to engage in activities that harm or disrupt local customs, and to purchase sustainable local art and craft that reflects local history and culture of their destination.
In our offices, we seek to utilise clean (solar) energy sources and maintain or reduce per employee energy consumption from year to year. We minimise pollution by following a purchasing procedure that prioritises efficient, biodegradable, eco-friendly, and/or certified products. Our water use reduction measures are externally assessed, and water use is measured and monitored (analysed) and internally communicated to all staff members annually. Office and staff travel carbon emissions are measured and mitigated via a certified compensation project. We seek to reduce waste generation by raising employee awareness and adopting purchasing procedures that focus on waste reduction, minimising paper use, and avoiding disposable products. We ensure correct waste separation, collection, and reuse of waste. We give preference to sustainable products when acquiring goods, supplies, or services for the office. We promote commuting via shared / public transport by means of financial incentive and Carbon emissions related to staff home to work commuting are surveyed and compensated. We encourage suppliers to adopt sustainable practices through our sustainability awareness campaign, incentives such as our green leaf, awarded to those with a higher-than-average commitment to sustainability providers. We only work with transport, excursion and accommodation providers that have received our sustainability pledge / commitment term and agree to adhere to our sustainability and health policy. We give preference to destinations where touristic activities are conducted sustainably and support/involve local communities, and we seek to include remote and offbeat destinations (rural economies) in our portfolio, that fall outside of the main tourism routes.
We Adhere to existing labour regulations regarding remuneration, working hours, payment of overtime, holidays, sick leave, and maternity leave, as well as ensuring the freedom of employees to join a trade union. We provide formal contracts, benefits such as (financial) support for medical insurance, and meal vouchers. We condemn forced labour. In our sustainability pledge / commitment term and contracts, suppliers declare to respect neighbouring communities, and do not deprive them of basic services such as water, sanitation, energy, health, safety, livelihood activities. Our partnership can be terminated if they do not adhere to this policy. Self-guided itineraries with rental vehicles come with a roadbook, with sustainability tips, and tips for stops along the self-drive routes to enhance interaction with the local economy via restaurants, community-based projects and markets.
In 2015, Ideia Tours was awarded the GSTC-recognized Travelife Certification of Excellence in Sustainable Tourism. We are the only Travelife-certified DMC in Brazil to have achieved this status. We chose Travelife specifically for its elaborate set of tools that enable us to engage in ecologically, socially and culturally responsible tourism. We really feel that the program’s criteria and audits have not only helped us implement positive changes in our own business, but also among the many hotels, lodges and travel agencies that we work with.
Our environmentally friendly offices in Rio de Janeiro and Recife are equipped with efficient in-office waste management and rainwater collection systems. Our very own Green Team coordinates and monitors these and other sustainability measures, such as recycling and reducing our consumption of paper and energy. We compensate for our office and staff travel carbon emissions and have installed solar panels on the roof of our office in Recife. Our Green Team conducts regular inspections and surveys to monitor and evaluate the commitment of our suppliers to sustainable tourism. Over the years, these efforts have led to the development of the Ideia Green Leaf seal, which we use to indicate the hotels and service providers that, in our view, demonstrate a superior level of sustainability. If you need further information, please contact our sustainability coordinator at sustainability@ideiatours.com.br.
For more details, please access our complete Sustainability policy and most recent Travelife certificate here: